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[Publisher] The Friday Project

efreysson

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They are apparently a London-based web-to-print publishing house. They claim to bypass the traditional agent route and find their clients directly on the internet.
Does anyone have any personal experience or knowledge of these people?
 

Richard White

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I'd need to research it more thoroughly. However, the only red flag I can see while perusing their web site is their claims of having "worked in the publishing industry for "a long time" would be a lot more convincing if they stated where they worked in the industry even for a short time.

The only other possible concern I have is their catalogue lists 32 books published and 12 listed as coming soon. That seems a tad excessive for a company that only started in 2005, although, they could have had several of those in the pipeline before they went public. That many books released in under 24 months makes me question the time spent in editorial and on promoting them before their releases, especially since they only list five people in the company (1 editor, 1 editorial assistant).

However, these are the only things that jump out at me. I don't know if you can check sales in the U.K. like you can here using Ingrams, so I decided to take a sampling of their books and look them up on www.Amazon.co.uk. I plugged the Star Trek anthology I'm in as a control (I know what it looks like on Amazon.com and wanted to compare the .uk version).

(Note: Amazon numbers are known for their vagueness, but it can be used as a point for comparison.)

The Sky's the Limit (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (Paperback)
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,685 in Books
**This book just came out on Oct 10, so it's still new and has a built in audience**

The Holy Moly! Rules of Modern Life (Hardcover)
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 115,519 in Books
**OK, book came out in October, 2005. Still has sales in the low six figures. Sounds reasonable to me at first glance **

How to be a Social Diva
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 28,601 in Books
**Book came out in June 2007. Looks like pretty good sales, especially for a small publisher.**

So, based on a very small sample, it does appear they get books out there. Whether they're in bookstores, I'd have to do more research.

Appears to be a small publisher selling hardbacks on line and getting sales through Amazon.co.uk. No major red flags I could see on first glance beyond those noted above.

I would say, if you're a U.K. author, to check out a few of their books, (Are they in bookstores, are they in libraries?) before submitting your manuscript.

Of course, YMMV.
 

edgyllama

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I found the Star Trek book on TBM Book Manager. They say they use Simon & Schuster for distribution and sure enough, that's what it shows. Standard discounts as well.
 

waylander

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I'd need to research it more thoroughly. However, the only red flag I can see while perusing their web site is their claims of having "worked in the publishing industry for "a long time" would be a lot more convincing if they stated where they worked in the industry even for a short time.

The Friday Project is the brainchild of Scott Pack who was chief buyer with Waterstones, the biggest book chain in the UK.
The Guardian has called him 'The most powerful man in the books trade'

His blog is here http://meandmybigmouth.typepad.com/
 
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Richard White

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Good information to know and a pretty darn solid credit.

I just wish they had posted info like that on the web site instead of having to rely on people tracking him down, especially for those of us who don't have a good working knowledge of the U.K. publishing or bookselling fields.

Thanks for the info and the link! :Thumbs:
 

efreysson

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Yep, this looks good. I'll give them a try. Thanks for the research.
 

Old Hack

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The Friday Project is very well regarded, and staffed with rather good people, from what I've heard. A rather new take on publishing, but Pack is one of those charismatic people who are also rather good at their jobs. He's got a good reputation here.

Definitely worth considering.
 

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I know a few of The Friday Project's current authors and they all speak very highly of the imprint, and their editors there.

And the last time I looked, TFP accepted unagented submissions. Even though it's part of HarperCollins.